Munster are 'once bitten twice shy' as they return to Sharks for URC play-off, says Calvin Nash
United Rugby Championship
Calvin Nash insists Munster have moved on from their Durban drubbing, backing a more experienced squad to rise to the challenge in Saturday’s URC quarter-final against the Sharks. Photo: Backpagepix
Image: Backpagepix
Munster have not forgotten the 40-point mauling they suffered on their last visit to Durban, and wing Calvin Nash says lessons have been learned ahead of Saturday’s United Rugby Championship quarter-final.
At that time, the Sharks were in a freewheeling mood and played excellent attacking rugby. Although they have lost that spark of late, Nash remains wary of the home team’s potential.
The then Munster coach, Graham Rowntree, was sacked when the team returned to Ireland. In that game in Durban, the Sharks scored two tries shortly after the opening whistle and two more before the 30th minute.
“They put us under enormous pressure in the first half, in the first few minutes,” Ireland wing Nash recalled. “They dominated us in the contact area early and put us under savage pressure.
“It was tough trying to claw our way back out of that hole we dug ourselves into. We have to start the game better this time, take the game to them, and come away with a better result.”
Nash was a try-scorer for Munster when they shocked the Stormers in the URC final in Cape Town two seasons ago, after playing both a quarter-final and a semi-final on the road.
He says his team are in a similar position now.
“Our last two games were essentially knockout games for us because we weren’t in the best position in the URC,” Nash explained. “That’s how we treated them, and this week will be no different.”
“While a few of us do have reference points from that final, we are taking the Sharks game as it is,” the 27-year-old said. “We are taking each game week by week, and we feel the squad is in a different place compared to when we were last in Durban. If you compare the current squad to the one that travelled in October, there’s a big difference.
“It feels like there’s a lot more experience, with guys really hitting their form.”
“We know the Sharks well,” Nash added.
“We’ve looked at their last half-dozen games, as we always do. But a huge amount of focus has been on us — on how we’ve improved and managed two very high-pressure games against Ulster and Benetton.”